Cooking appliances for domestic use, including ranges, may have generally square or rectangular bodies that are installed in openings of predetermined size within a kitchen cabinet structure. FIG. 1 illustrates such a range 10 that is mounted in an opening between left cabinets CL and right cabinets CR. The range 10 occupies and defines a width dimension, a depth dimension and a height dimension to fill the 3-dimensional spaced between the cabinets CL, CR. Of interest to the present invention are the width dimension and the depth dimension, each of which gives rise to a width direction and a depth direction respectively.
The range 10 may be capped with a cooktop 14 on an upper portion of the range body 12 at approximately cabinet level height. The cooktop 14 has a number of burners thereon and grates 16 over the burners to support cooking vessels for surface cooking. The burners are controlled by control elements 26 mounted in association with a control panel 24 which extends in the width direction along the front portion of the range 10. The control elements 26 may include dials for burner control as well as indicator lamps and timers or clocks.
FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art range 100 with the cooktop removed, revealing the internal structure of the range 100 in an area near the control panel 124. Control element components 134 are mounted to an internal chassis 130 behind the control panel 124. A cross member 150 extends behind the control element components 134 in the width direction and is mounted to a chassis 130 that provides the internal structure of the range 100 with mounting locations and support. The cross member 150 helps to stiffen the chassis structure 130 of the range 100 adjacent the control panel 124, an area of user interactivity with the range.
During times of inspection, maintenance and/or repair, access may be needed to the control elements 134 having control element components 136 which necessitates removing the cross member 150. Prior ranges have the cross member 150 mounted to the chassis using fasteners 148 that are accessible from a width direction W. Such an orientation requires that the range body 12 be removed from or extended substantially from its opening in the cabinets so that a fastener removal tool such as a screwdriver or other form of driver may gain purchase on the fasteners for the removal.
Even though field repairs are irregular occurrences, it would be beneficial if, under such conditions described above, the cross member could be removed from behind the control element components in a matter that does not require extension or removal of the range from the opening in the cabinets.